The 2023-24 NHL season starts on Tuesday, Oct. 10. Here’s a look at key dates from the 2023-24 NHL schedule.
It's October, and that means the National Hockey League is back for another season.
Hockey fans will pack into arenas all over the United States and Canada to watch their teams play, from as for north as Edmonton to as south as Miami.
Given the NHL's large presence in Canada (with seven teams), the league is represented by cities different from the other three major sports leagues in North America (the NFL, MLB and NBA).
Here is everything you need to know about the cities that do, and don't, have an NHL team and the arenas they house:
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What is the largest city without an NHL team?
America's fourth-largest city, Houston, is still without an NHL franchise.
The city in southern Texas has a population of over 2 million people, and has more than 7 million people in its metropolitan area.
However, although Houston does not currently have an NHL team, it remains on the league's list of potential cities to take on a team via expansion or relocation.
What is the smallest city with a NHL team?
Winnipeg in the Canadian province of Manitoba is the smallest city with an NHL team and one of the smallest cities with a professional sports team in North America.
The ice cold city has a population just over 800,000 in its metropolitan area, making it about the same size as the metro area of Charleston, South Carolina.
However, Winnipeg is not the smallest city with a professional sports team from one of the Big Four leagues. That honor, of course, belongs to Green Bay, Wisconsin.
What is the largest hockey stadium?
The largest NHL stadium is Bell Centre in Montreal, Canada, which is the home of the Montreal Canadiens.
The stadium seats around 21,105 people.
A close second is the United Center in Chicago, which houses both the Blackhawks and the Bulls. For a hockey game, the Windy City's arena seats around 19,717 people.
What is the smallest hockey stadium?
Right now, the smallest NHL arena is Mullett Arena, home of the Arizona Coyotes.
The arena was built for the purpose of being a venue for Arizona State University's collegiate athletics. The Arizona Coyotes have signed a multi-year lease at the arena as they try to get a new one built in the state.
The seating capacity for an NHL game is 4,600 people.
What NHL team has the loudest arena?
PNC Arena, home of the Carolina Hurricanes, has been dubbed the "Loudest House in the NHL."
More than 18,000 "Caniacs" pack into the arena for regular and postseason games, voicing deafening cheers and jeers as they root on the home team.
